A Brand New Day
by writetobeararms
Summary: A Marauder Era fic that takes place during the gang's 6th year. Stella Dupont, longtime friend of Sirius Black, is starting to realize that maybe not ALL his friends are so brainless... Add in a wizarding war & pureblood parents, and you've got trouble.
1. Chapter 1

Hokay, so. I'm relatively new to the whole fan fiction thing, and this is my first ever Harry Potter story. I absolutely love anything and everything to do with the Marauders' era-- I just think JKR did a phenomenal job coming up with a solid story line that can still leave a lot to the imagination :) As with just about everything I write, I added in my own main character to the mix-- someone who goes way back with Sirius and starts harboring certain feelings for everyone's favorite lycanthrope (there's a word you don't use too often).

Despite what the first chapter or so may lead you to believe, the story's gonna take place in the Marauders' 6th year.

Oh, and oooobviously I don't own any of the characters you recognize. That would be JK Rowling, aka who I want to be (if and) when I grow up.

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**Brand New Day**

[August 31st, 1971]

Margaux Estelle Dupont, known as Stella to most of the world, wound up to bat as the late summer sun began to set. Stella and her best friend Sirius were escaping her parents' party at their expansive summer home in England. The party was celebrating her oldest brother Henry's promotion at the Ministry, her middle brother Pierre becoming a Prefect, and her going off to Hogwarts for the first time this September.

All their family friends had been invited, which mostly included various members of the Black family plus important ministry officials, and the party had taken a decidedly political turn. Everyone began discussing their favorite topic—the concept of Muggles being accepted into the wizarding world as regular wizards. Once Stella heard the term "mudbloods," she signaled to Sirius that it was time to get out of there.

Sirius was attempting to instruct her and Regulus, his younger brother, on how to play the Muggle game he had been watching the neighbor boys play from his window at home. It involved a stick and a hard ball, and apparently the aim was to hit the ball as hard as you could with the stick. Stella was quite good at it, as she was at just about every athletic activity, and found it was a lot like playing Beater in Quidditch. Except, of course, no broomsticks.

Regulus had long since given up playing, whining that she and Sirius weren't playing fair by making him go after the balls they would hit far into the forest. He had threatened to rat them out for playing a Muggle sport until Sirius had said that it was only because they were older that Regulus had the responsibility to run after every single ball Margaux would hit as if his life depended on it. Once Regulus was old enough to go to Hogwarts, he could play like them, Sirius had assured him.

The trio was in a far corner of her yard when they heard Margaux's mother calling out to them.

"Margaux Estelle! _Viens ici! _Sirius and Regulus, you too! Time to eat!"

"_Nous venons, mère!_"

All three rushed to put their nice shoes back on, and Sirius and Stella were still brushing off their dress robes when Regulus started trotting obediently toward the tent where the large party had gathered. Sirius rolled his eyes at his brother's retreating back.

Lanterns had been lit and were magically hanging at various points in the magical tent which covered a good portion of the yard. It was quite pretty. Someone had been hired to play the piano throughout the entire evening, and Margaux couldn't help feeling sorry for the man. Although she loved music and had aspirations of becoming a rock star (much to the chagrin of her parents, who claimed it wasn't a proper profession for a young woman of her stature), his fingers had to have been hurting him by now.

Judging by the man's appearance, she very much doubted he would have been the kind of person to enjoy this kind of party. He seemed more laid-back, like the young people she had seen in France the one time she had been to visit her grandmother this spring. She was shocked by how very little of the world she and Sirius had seen after being sheltered by their parents their entire lives. It was in France, from one of her grandmother's friends, that she learned the term "mudblood" was offensive. She suspected there was a lot more to learn about the world than what little her parents had told her.

She and Sirius were sitting across from each other, both next to their mothers. As the first course was being served, she exchanged an exasperated look with him as none of their table had stopped the political talk. Glancing longingly behind her at the second table, she wished she had been placed there. Sirius' cousin Andromeda had made a rare appearance, most likely because she was friends with Henry, and they seemed to be having a much better time there. Most of Henry and Pierre's friends from school were at that table as well, and they all seemed to be enjoying a joke someone told.

That was when she noticed the piano player watching her. His robes were worn, and he seemed extremely skinny. However, there was something about the way he was playing that was unlike any other musician she had ever seen before. He was truly part of the music, she felt. His hair was longer, and unkempt. It kept falling into his face. Her father and all the men she had ever seen had either short hair, or long hair that was always neatly pulled back. As he finished the piece he was playing, he looked up at her and winked, smiling a true smile before playing yet another song. She blushed, and turned back to her plate.

"_Maman_," she whispered at her mother's shoulder. She was always intimidated from talking too loudly at her parents' dinners. "Maman, is that man going to eat at all?"

"Which man, _ma cherie_?"

"The man playing the piano. He looks hungry. And he must be tired from playing for so long."

"Darling, that man is different from us. We're doing him a service by hiring him to play tonight, just as we do the elves we have in the house. We've been over this time and time again, darling. But you see, that is what happens when you waste your talent by trying to become a musician instead of listening to your parents. You cannot afford to eat. Maybe he can bring home whatever we have leftover, would that make you feel better? Stop staring, now."

Stella put her hands in her lap, and tried to give her full attention to her food. She seriously doubted whether the reason he couldn't afford to eat was because he didn't listen to his parents, but she wasn't about to say that.

"_Maman_."

"_Oui, ma fille._"

"Why can't he afford to eat? Food isn't very expensive, is it?"

"Ah, Margaux, _tant des questions_!" Stella could tell when her mother was trying not to get exasperated with her because she would always switch to French, and her French accent would suddenly thicken as the words rushed out of her mouth. "I don't know anything about that man's life. Just be grateful that you are eating well tonight. I am sure he is where he is because he made his own decisions. Do not worry about him."

The note of finality made Stella realize her questions were done being answered for the rest of the evening. She resigned herself to stealing looks at the man, while pretending to be paying attention to the rest of the table. After dessert and a brief toast by her father to his children (mainly his sons, she noticed), their guests finally started to leave, some wishing her luck before they departed.

Sirius was edging his way through the well-wishers, and Stella was wondering absently whether they could finish their game before he had to leave. She was about to ask him when she was interrupted.

"Well, Margaux, my dear, are you excited for Hogwarts tomorrow?"

A portly man, who she noticed had been sweating through most of dinner despite the cool night air, approached where she and Sirius were attempting to hide. She thought this must be Professor Slughorn, the jovial Professor her brothers had both made jokes about during their school breaks. Stella was fairly certain he was responsible for her brother Henry being promoted this summer, and wondered why her brothers would make fun of a man who was nice enough to do something like that.

"Yes, sir, I am, thank you."

She stood up straight and put her arms behind her back, trying to be polite and ladylike, like her mother had always pressured her to be. Sirius smirked as she abruptly changed posture.

"I must say, your brothers have set quite an example for you to follow at school. Any idea which house you'd like to be in?"

Her oldest brother had been sorted into Ravenclaw, like her mother had been, but her middle brother had been placed in Slytherin like the rest of their family friends. If her father had gone to school at Hogwarts instead of Durmstrang, she suspected he would be a Slytherin as well.

"I'll be happy wherever I'm placed, sir."

Another smirk from Sirius, who she had just been commiserating with earlier in the evening about how miserable they'd both be if they were stuck in Slytherin.

"Ah, how very diplomatic. Your father must be pleased. Selfishly I must say I hope that you're put in Slytherin." He winked at her, as if he was letting her in on a secret. "I'm head of house, and I would very much like to see the both of you at my table tomorrow evening. How does that sound, Sirius? Care to join Narcissa and Bellatrix?"

Professor Slughorn was smiling, and she assumed he was only trying to be friendly.

"I would rather die, sir."

Sirius was smiling as charmingly as ever, and Stella couldn't keep herself from snorting at the crestfallen look on the professor's face as he realized the disconnect between what Sirius had just said and his outwardly expression. Luckily, the professor was quickly intercepted by Stella's mother and led away before he could comment.

"You really shouldn't have said that, Seer." Stella reprimanded her friend once they were out of earshot.

"Why not? It's better than the 'I'll be happy wherever I'm placed' crap that you came up with. At least I meant what I said."

"Don't say crap. And maybe I _did_ mean what I said."

"Give me a break. We both know how miserable you'd be in Slytherin. You'd be a sheep, just like the rest of our families. You don't really believe in all that pureblood stuff they shove down our throats, do you?"

Truthfully, she didn't. At the same time, she couldn't help but worry what would happen between her and Sirius if she did get placed in Slytherin, versus what would happen with her and the rest of her family if she didn't.

"Seer? Can you promise me something?"

"Hmm?"

"Even if something horrible happens, and the Sorting Hat separates us or puts me in Slytherin, will you still promise to be my friend?"

"The daft hat is not going to put you in Slytherin."

"You can't know that. Tell me you'll at least still be my friend."

"Well, I can't promise anything. When I have several hot, older, Muggle-born girls vying for my affection, I don't want you ruining my reputation."

Stella smacked him hard, hoping her parents didn't notice.

"Sirius!" She hissed at him, once she was sure she had slipped under their radar.

"Ow!"

He pretended to be hurt and nurse his arm, but at the same time, he couldn't stop himself from laughing at the expression on her face.

"Fine, fine, you know I was joking with you. But seriously," he smirked, enjoying the pun on his name that never got old with him and the inevitable eye roll that he received. "Of course I'll be your friend. As long as you don't like being a Slytherin and you never stop making fun of Bella or Cissy with me, we can still be friends."

"You promise?"

"Of course. Who else is going to keep me company at these kinds of things once Andromeda gets herself blasted off the family tree?"

"No one," she agreed. "Not even Regulus, once he wizens up."

"See? You're my best friend, Stella. And you're the only one that puts up with me. You probably couldn't keep me away if you tried. Now stop worrying. Hogwarts isn't going to know what to do with us."

"That's what I'm worried about," she said, mostly to herself, as she imagined what her first day would be like tomorrow.

Almost 24 hours later, Stella bounced gleefully in her seat next to Sirius at their new house's table. She was half expecting someone, anyone, to come running up and tell her it was all a joke that the two of them had been placed in Gryffindor. Until then, she and Sirius would revel in the death stares being shot at them from their relatives at the Slytherin table, as well as the stares of random students who were shocked that a Black and a Dupont had just been sorted into Gryffindor.

To be frank, the threat of being disowned from her family wasn't nearly as threatening here, hundreds of miles away from her parents (especially her father). She expected a howler from him tomorrow morning courtesy of her snitch of a brother, but under the presence of the enchanted ceiling and comforting blue-eyed smile of the Headmaster, she felt completely safe.

On the train ride up, she had made friends with a half-blood, several Muggleborns who had never even heard of Hogwarts before, and a handful of purebloods whose surnames she recognized from her father's diatribe every morning after reading the Daily Prophet. A vivacious red-headed Muggleborn girl she met on the train (Lily, she thought) plopped down next to her and gave her a big, friendly grin. Rebellion never seemed so much fun, and she knew that she and Sirius were in for the greatest seven years of their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summer, 1974**

Stella had tears running down her face as she tried to hold onto her seat in the Night Bus as it ran haphazardly through most of England. She had known her father had a temper, but she had never known the extent to which he would express it until this afternoon. He had hit her, hard, across her face, and as she gingerly touched it now, she could feel it beginning to bruise. All because she had been invited by Lily Evans to spend the summer with her family, something she couldn't even help.

She had run out of her family's front door without a plan as her father continued to shout behind her, shooting poorly-aimed hexes at her back. It really hadn't just been that Lily, her Muggle-born best friend, had been in communication with her, despite her father having forbidden it last summer.

It wasn't just that she was friends with Muggles that her father was upset. It was that she was dressing like a Muggle at home now and reading their magazines and listening to their music. It was that she had signed up for Muggle Studies against her father's wishes, and it continued to be the only class she did consistently well in. It was that whenever she was with her family, she never once hesitated to voice her opinion in support of Dumbledore and his pro-Muggle, pro-tolerance policies.

It had all started the day she got to Hogwarts and had been sorted into Gryffindor. It had continued her second year, when she was not only the youngest member accepted onto the house Quidditch team or the only girl, but that she had gotten the position of beater, something which her mother strongly protested against, claiming it negatively affected her "ladylike" upbringing. The dormant rebellion she had felt deep inside her began to wake up then.

In her third year, when Voldemort's Death Eaters had openly attacked an area near a Muggle school, injuring several children, her parents had barely reacted when she came home that Christmas. It had led all the way to this past year, where she had gotten detention for Muggle-dueling the Slytherin son of one of her father's employers for calling one of her friends a mudblood, breaking his nose and otherwise humiliating him in front of Hogwarts.

All of these things contributed to her father losing his nerve.

Luckily, Stella had her wand on her and a wallet full of money as she stormed out of the house. She had thought to hail the Night Bus, as she had heard Andromeda, Sirius' cousin, had done after being disowned from her own family for getting engaged to a Muggleborn. Stella really had no idea where she was going, and had stupidly instructed the driver to take her to London. No street specifics or districts, just the city of London. Hopefully, if he was nice, he would take her to a good part. If he wasn't nice, though, or recognized her and was against her father's outspoken opinions that he frequently voiced in the Daily Prophet, he most likely would drop her in a bad part.

The sun was setting as the bus pulled next to the Leaky Cauldron, the pub with the magic entryway into Diagon Alley. Stella sighed with relief. Following the small crowd into Diagon Alley, she noticed Gringotts sitting like a castle in front of her when an idea came to her.

She went into the bank to exchange the large sum of money in her back pocket for Muggle money. She had written a term paper on the invention of the Muggle airplane last year, and she suddenly had inspiration to visit her somewhat estranged _grand-mère_ in the south of France.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One week later, Stella awoke early to the gentle sound of the ocean crashing outside of her grandmother's oceanfront property in a small beach town outside of Nice. It was pleasantly warm outside already, and the fragrant smell coming from the bright flowers that adorned the property floated in from her open windows, making the gauzy white curtains in her room billow in peacefully.

Every morning for the past six days she had woken up thinking she was in paradise. She had forgotten how much she missed her grandmother and her grandmother's eccentric, artsy friends, and how welcoming they all were.

Her still-young _grand-mère_ was full of life, and full of love. After cursing her son-in-law for hours in several languages, she had been extremely curious to hear any information about her grandsons and her daughter, who she hadn't seen in five years. Then she proceeded to dote on Stella in every way, shape and form.

Her grandmother's house was always full of guests and friends drinking wine, smoking smelly, hand-rolled cigarettes, eating sweets, and laughing. And there was always some kind of music being played or some important piece of art being sketched or sculpted at all hours of the day and night. Stella recognized several of her grandmother's friends from the arts section of the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly, and had quickly fallen in love with this place.

This morning, however, as she stood on her bedroom balcony overlooking the ocean, something felt wrong in the house. There was no music and no laughter, she realized. In fact, it didn't sound like anyone was home at all. It was altogether unsettling.

Throwing a silk bathrobe over her new flowing nightgown (her grandmother had taken this week to completely replenish her wardrobe with items from both wizard and Muggle designers, claiming 14 years of inadequate birthdays and Christmases to make up for), she ran downstairs to the empty first floor.

She recognized her mother and grandmother's voices arguing in French behind the closed kitchen door. The floor downstairs was covered in a light dusting of sand, probably owning to the fact that every window and door in the house was always open to the elements, and the sand stuck to the bottoms of her feet, making a shuffling sound as she walked. She noticed her school trunk and a large suitcase sitting in the living room.

Not wanting to interrupt the argument, she sat in one of the mismatched chairs at the dining room table. She really didn't want to go back to England, but she realized that she had no choice in the matter until she turned 17. There were still half-filled glasses of wine lying around, along with dirty plates that were still from the night before. She couldn't think of a more drastic change from her pristine home back in England.

As the two women exited the kitchen, they looked at the youngest of their family in shock, surprised to see her sitting there. All three of the women seemed to be near-identical versions of each other, just at various stages of life. All three had blue eyes and blonde hair and skin that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, owing to their Veela matriarch, Stella's great-grandmother.

However, Stella's grandmother and mother could not have been more opposite from each other. Her mother was tall, where her grandmother was short. Her grandmother's long, slightly graying blond hair fell in sea salt-infused waves around her tan shoulders. Her dark blue eyes had laugh lines, which seemed to accentuate the rest of her attractive facial features.

Stella's mother, on the other hand, though equally attractive, had her blonde hair perfectly coiffed back in a low bun, with not a strand out of place. Her blue eyes were colder, and her skin was pearly white, looking like it had never once seen the sun. She was dressed exquisitely in wizard's robes, though not ostentatiously, while her grandmother wore brightly colored, mismatched Muggle clothing and was adorned in handmade jewelry. Stella recognized a necklace she had made for her when she was five.

"Margaux," her mother warmly addressed her, concern apparent in her eyes as she hugged her. "You look quite well, my sweet."

"Because she is loved here and free to do what she wants!" Her grandmother interrupted in her thick accent.

"I have been so concerned about you, after Robert's outburst." Her mother continued, ignoring the interruption. "He is sorry for letting his temper get the best of him. I thought you should know that."

Stella nodded, doubting whether he was truly sorry, or whether her mother just wished her husband was sorry. She also noticed how her mother used her father's name, and sensed there was new tension between them. Now, she suspected was the part where her mother would beg for her to come back home. She wondered how she would be able to break the news that she was staying.

"Your grandmother and I have been talking. We think it's best if you stay with her. Between the violence that has been occurring in England in addition to Robert's temper, I think you're safest here. We can arrange transportation back to London for you to start school again in the fall."

"Violence, pah! Your friend Voldemort is what has been occurring!" Her grandmother added, just slightly too loud to be under her breath. Her mother flinched, as Stella had never seen her flinch before. Her mother never lost her cool. Stella stared at her, slightly open-mouthed. Her mother _wanted_ her to stay here? What was the catch?

There was more arguing in French, this time about Voldemort, and her mother seemed very adamant about driving home the fact that she was _not_ a friend of Voldemort's, and that she was happily married, thank you very much. Stella wasn't so sure how the two were connected, but didn't give it much thought. She was still hung up on her mother allowing her to stay at her grandmother's for the rest of the summer.

"Anyways, Stella," her mother said, clearly still flustered, if only because she was using Stella's nickname which she abhorred. "I've already packed all of your school things in your trunk. I put a mail order form from Flourish and Blotts on top; once you get your school booklist send it in to them with instructions to send your books straight to Hogwarts. I will set up your own account at Gringotts and make sure you have enough money to get you through the year. That's as much as I can promise; you'll need to find a job next summer.

"The other suitcase is full of your old clothes, but it appears my mother has already taken care of clothing you. I put some money in there for you, too. _Grand-mère_ will take good care of you here and Sirius will be sure you're okay at school, I'm sure. I love you, Margaux. I'm sorry things had to turn out this way. "

With a chaste kiss on her forehead, her mother disapparated. Stella was slightly confused by the last few things her mother had said before leaving. Her grandmother had already angrily disappeared into the kitchen, and was making quite a ruckus in there under the pretense of making breakfast, going on about "some daughter of mine," again, in various languages. One of which Stella was pretty sure was Mermish.

Stella was staring at her luggage in confusion. Why was it so important that she get her own account at Gringotts? And a job next summer? And why would Sirius take care of her at school?

Stella heard her grandmother mumble something about _abandon_, and it hit her. She hadn't necessarily been disowned like Andromeda Black. Her mother had just given her away to the first person her fourteen year-old daughter had run to. This short visit was her mother washing her hands clean of the whole mess.

She sat, frozen to her chair in shock. The difference between her and Andromeda was that Andromeda was eighteen. Stella was four years younger, unable to do magic outside of school, and for once, was completely unsure of what was about to happen to her.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks hellbell and liftthewings for reviewing :) You guys made my week of finals that much better!!

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Two Years Later

On the first day of her sixth year, Stella rushed to History of Magic, late as always. She vaguely remembered Lily trying to wake her up for breakfast, but she must have gone back to sleep. She woke up an hour later with the first bell ringing throughout the school to mark the start of the day.

She had jumped out of bed and thrown on her wrinkled uniform, leaving the front of her black school robes open, exposing the more typical school uniform of a plaid skirt and button down as she sprinted through Hogwarts, trying to simultaneously put on her old black loafers. Her school tie hung haphazardly around her neck—it had been thrown in the bottom of her trunk at the end of last year, and had conveniently remained tied all summer.

As she approached the classroom, she pulled her long golden hair into a messy bun, securing it with a Muggle pen Lily had lent her last year for her Muggle Studies OWL that was still at the bottom of her school bag. As she carefully opened the door and slipped in under Professor Binn's radar, she cursed the fact that her black tights had a hole in the knee.

She noticed Lily looked absolutely perfect, of course. Stella was pretty sure Lily had been magically ironing her clothes before she went to bed last night, and had probably gotten up extra early to be prepared on the first day of school. Of course. Sometimes she wished her best friend had rubbed off on her a bit more than she did. Then again, she didn't particularly want to look perfect.

Sometime around fourth year, the male population at Hogwarts had become absolutely obsessed with her while most of the female population grew to dislike her, either because she was on such good terms with Sirius, the school heartthrob, or because the rest of the male population had more or less all asked her out at one point or another. Peter had joked that she had become the female Sirius, and it was something she absolutely abhorred. She was one of Gryffindor's beaters, for Merlin's sake. Although things had finally tamed down a bit after two or so years, there wasn't a day that passed that she didn't curse her great-grandmother for being a Veela.

Looking around the History of Magic room, she saw Lily exchange an annoyed glance with her as Stella realized her usual seat next to her best friend was currently filled by James Potter. Of course he would have seized any opportunity to prey on Lily. Sirius had just so happened to sit next to Peter today, which meant that the only available seat was in the back next to Remus, the Marauder who generally never talked to her.

Sirius had guessed she had a crush on Remus this summer, based on the fact that most of their recent conversations centered on her pestering him about whether he thought Remus liked her and what exactly he had told Sirius about her. She had a hunch that today's seating arrangement wasn't at all by accident, and was very much revenge for torturing him via owl all summer.

She scowled as she passed Sirius, who feigned innocence. Double history had never seemed so horrible before. She knocked her bag against the back of Sirius' head as she passed behind him.

She normally doodled or wrote songs during history, cramming from Lily's notes whenever she needed to. Really, the class was more like a free period, and she didn't mind it. Today, however, she found she couldn't fully concentrate on not concentrating with the silent Marauder so close to her. Instead, she chose to covertly watch him out of the corner of her eye as he took notes.

She had known he was a werewolf since she spent Christmas holidays with him at Hogwarts their first year. They had been the only Gryffindor first years to stay behind, and when he was "sick" for most of the break only reappear with scratches and scars all over his body, she had put two and two together, much to his shock and dismay. Although he was always kind to her, as he was to everyone, he never got as close to her as the other Marauders had over the years, and she wondered if that incident had something to do with it. It was rather infuriating, especially now that she realized how cute he was.

She was pulled out of her reverie as she looked down at her previously empty parchment. Sirius had passed her a note, and she hadn't even noticed. She recognized his messy scrawl at the top of her page.

_You can thank me for the seating arrangement later._

She rolled her eyes and wrote back to him. _I really hate you sometimes, you know that? You're lucky I don't hex you into next week._

Pressing her wand to the parchment, the words she had just written disappeared from her paper, only to reappear on his parchment a few seats away from her. Within a few short moments, he was already responding.

_Do what you must, but please don't mess with my face. Or my hair, for that matter. You know how angry my many admirers would be with you. Speaking of admirers, I hear you've quite the group planning on asking you out yet again this year. My attractive presence and charm must have finally worn off on you after all these years. Either that, or your feminine wiles have finally kicked in._

_Bugger off._

_Ah, it's definitely the charm, then. But Siriusly, you should just suck it up and finally tell dearest Moony how much you'd really love to snog him. He needs good French snogging experience like you've had. In fact, you could probably do it right here. Binns would never notice. Although there's not a doubt in my mind your admirers would most likely seek revenge and starting dueling him immediately from out of nowhere…_

Crumpling up her parchment as his words continued to appear out of thin air, she carefully launched it at Sirius' head. It bounced off his shiny mane, and he made kissy faces at her. Sighing, she otherwise ignored him, thinking how much she'd love to take her beater's bat to his face. Instead, she brought her attention back to Remus, who she could have sworn just smiled at her interaction with Sirius, although was now paying full attention to Binns' droning lecture. Merlin forbid he actually acknowledges her existence.

He looked tired, as usual, even though the full moon was two weeks ago. His sandy brown hair was growing out this year. It wasn't quite as long as Sirius', but it was starting to grow into his caramel brown eyes, creating a brooding, mysterious effect. He was tall and slender, yet incredibly muscular. He had gotten tan this summer, and Stella wondered where he went.

He wasn't as popular with the female population as James and Sirius were, but he had his own small fan base, even though he never went out with any of them. He was extraordinarily good looking, yet didn't seem to realize it, which only made him that much more attractive in her opinion. Although her childhood friend had the tendency to be an annoying twit, she doubted whether Remus had a single cruel bone in his body, and frequently wondered how he remained friends with the other so-called Marauders after all these years. She was fascinated by him and his seemingly gentle outward appearance.

Remus suddenly caught her watching him. She blushed, but didn't turn away. He frowned slightly, and she suddenly was overwhelmed by how expressive his brown eyes were, and how close they were sitting to each other.

They held each other's gaze for a long moment. Just as Remus looked like he was about to say something, the bell rang, making Stella jump out of her skin. Remembering where she was, she threw her bag over her shoulder as Lily waited for her at the door to walk to their next class together, having already gotten rid of James. Remus was already out the door.

"So help me Merlin, if you abandon me like that again, I may actually have to kill him. Here, I brought you breakfast."

Her fiery friend handed her a honey sandwich and an apple.

"Aw, Lils, you're the best."

"You remember that, and come visit me in Azkaban once I've been sentenced."

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, although Stella did notice Remus smiling in greeting when they passed each other in the hall. Lily and the rest of her girlfriends swapped summer stories, and everyone had been jealous when they found out she spent yet another summer on the Cote d'Azur in France at her maternal grandmother's home. What only Lily and Sirius knew was that she had more or less been exiled there.

While in France the past two summers, she had gotten a job as a waitress at a muggle restaurant under her liberal _grand-mère_'s care, something her parents would have never permitted. Lily had spent part of the summer with her this year, which she loved. She had gotten a tan, learned how to play the guitar, and started saving money so that upon graduation she would be able to live on her own, despite her grandmother's insistence that she stay with her. She was driven by the anger she felt towards her mother for having abandoned her to succeed and come out on top of the situation, if only to petulantly rub it back in her mother's face.

With her grandmother's friends' help, she had submitted several tapes and magical clips of her singing to both Muggle and wizard radio stations and recording studios at the end of the summer. She had also gotten a part-time job modeling for several French clothing companies through her grandmother's friends, and had used the extra money she made to buy herself her own guitar.

She even dated a few local Muggles, one of which was apparently a famous movie star, according to Lily, and had learned how to drive a Vespa, which prompted Sirius to pester her with a million and one questions upon her return. He was absolutely obsessed with anything motorized, and had been driving her crazy on the train to school as they caught up.

"Hey, Stella. We've got Quidditch practice tonight, Oliver just said. Apparently he wants to do a team run-through to see what we need in the new players, or something like that."

James had just interrupted her and Lily walking to their last class of the day.

"You're joking. It's pouring outside!"

"Yeah, well, what can you do when you've got a nutter for a team captain yet again this year? See you later, then, Stell. Evans."

He nodded curtly to the two of them before running back to class, and Stella had to admit, she was surprised that's all he had to say to her best friend. She smiled as she noticed Lily gape after him.

Quidditch practice went as well as it could have, considering cold rain deluged them instantly and none of the players seemed to want to actually play, choosing instead to catch up with one another behind Oliver's back. As she stepped into the common room after practice later that night, she cursed every male inhabitant of Hogwarts. Sure enough, just as Sirius had predicted, she had been asked out constantly by guys feigning interest in the first Quidditch game, or France, or motorbikes.

In the hall after practice just now, James had to threaten her latest suitor by saying he was going to beat him with his broom if he didn't leave her alone. Wet, angry, and dirty, she plopped down with James on the sofa near Sirius and Peter, who were playing Muggle poker with Exploding Snap cards.

"I swear I'm going to hex the next bloody person who asks me out," she announced to the group.

"Now, now, don't be rash, Stell-Belle." Sirius used the nickname for her whenever she was being particularly pleasant. "Not all of us can be as charming as your French _paramours_. Anyways, you know the solution is to just say yes to one of them. The rest will eventually get the point. Pay up, Pete," he added as the deck exploded.

"Ugh. Is Lily upstairs?" Stella asked the group as she got up to leave them.

"No, she's in a Prefect's meeting with Remus," James answered automatically. "Not that I would know," he added, and at least had the decency to look slightly embarrassed.

"James, we _just_ talked about this during practice. Cool it with Lily. I'm going to go shower. Good night, guys. And I don't want to hear anything from Lily later about you bothering her."

Messing up James's hair affectionately, she left her boys to go upstairs, thinking about what this year was going to hold, and whether Lily would beat her to hexing James before she got to one of her suitors.


	4. Chapter 4

The second day was no better. This time they had double potions, and although Stella was slightly better at it than History of Magic, she still dreaded the class, mainly because of Slughorn, who seemed to miss the fact that she was estranged from her family. He also apparently missed the fact that she was a horrible student, and continued to invite her to his "Slug Club" dinners, despite her being one of the worst in her class.

By lunch, exactly 12 boys had asked her out. It was getting absurd, and Sirius was no help, claiming that she tempted the male population by her very looks.

Sitting next to Lily with the other girls at their end of the table, she tried to get into the conversation, but it seemed to revolve around her boyfriend this past summer, and everyone wanted details. Apparently her picture had made it into an issue of a popular Muggle teen magazine after going to a movie premiere with him. She feigned that she had left something back in the dorm as an excuse for an escape, grabbing the rest of her meal and heading out of the Great Hall.

Finding an abandoned hallway to sit in, she sighed as she slouched down next to a statue of a woman with a hump and one eye. She was getting attention from everyone, and it was getting to be a bit much. She doubted very much that if _she_ had a hump and one eye, anyone would pay attention to her. But wasn't it funny that the one person she would have loved to notice her continued to ignore her?

She didn't realize how upset she was getting until sparks flew out of her wand, which was stored safely away in her book bag, incinerating a large hole in the bag and making her books smoke. She cursed her luck, and started stomping on her bag to put out the flames when she was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore strolling around the corner, whistling to himself.

She froze, mid-stomp, and tried to adopt what she thought would be an innocent look.

"Miss Dupont, what a pleasant surprise to find you lurking in my hallway."

"Your hallway?" This must be where his office was. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't realize. I was just looking for a quiet place to eat lunch," she admitted. Something about the headmaster always made her want to tell the truth.

"Indeed, as was I." He surveyed the smoke with sparkling blue eyes. "I'm going to work on the assumption that the smoky atmosphere isn't from a prank or from you picking up a nasty habit," he said.

"No, not at all sir. I- well, I lost control for a second, and apparently my wand decided to take it out on my bag." She gestured to her still-smoking books before nervously running her hand through her silky hair.

"Ah, I see." He surveyed her, and she felt as though he was reading her mind, if that was possible. "Why don't you and your smoking texts join me for lunch in my office?"

"Uhh," she mumbled. Was she about to get in trouble? She wasn't aware of anyone ever being invited to eat with the headmaster.

Wordlessly, she followed him up the moving spiral staircase after gathering her things. Her jaw dropped as she surveyed his office. First were the sleeping portraits of all the former headmasters of Hogwarts since its inception. Next were the silver instruments. It looked like some mysterious muggle laboratory from a movie. Then there was the magnificent phoenix perched elegantly to the side, watching her every movement.

"Wow," she said under her breath as she carefully approached the creature. The bird cooed happily and closed its eyes as she gently stroked its chest. "Sir, you have a phoenix? That is unbelievably cool."

The words were out of her mouth before she thought who she was talking to. He chuckled, however.

"Thank you. Fawkes is an incredible bird, I must agree. But please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable."

Reluctantly leaving the bird, she sat awkwardly across from the headmaster, and suddenly she was all too aware of her hands. What did she normally do with them when she sat? He looked at her expectantly, and she began searching her brain for what she should be saying.

"Miss Dupont, didn't you think to bring yourself a lunch?"

"Oh!" she cried. Of course. "Yes, I did." She reached into her bag, and pulled out an apple, which alone made it out unsinged.

"Only an apple? Surely you're more hungry than that."

"Well, it was the first thing I grabbed when I left the Great Hall." It was either grab whatever's there and leave immediately, or die of embarrassment, she could have added. Her stomach chose that moment to growl traitorously.

"Ah, well, that won't do at all."

Waving his wand, his desk was suddenly cleared into two place settings that magically filled with food. "Help yourself," he added before he dug into his food.

The two ate in silence for a bit. Stella couldn't think of a single thing to say to the man. Finally the headmaster spoke.

"So, Miss Dupont, I hear you didn't do so well on your OWL exams this past year."

Oh, shit, she thought. Here we go. Suddenly losing her appetite, she pushed her plate away from her. "No sir, I suppose I didn't."

"Only four OWLs, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, sir. Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Divination." Only because I have the ability to BS my way through just about anything, she added to herself, thinking of her comical Divination practical.

"Indeed. What a disappointment from such a bright student."

She appreciated that he didn't call her a bright "girl," which generally offended her. Not that four OWLs generally qualified one as a bright anything.

"And how did your parents react?"

She blushed. Her parents hadn't known at all. She hadn't had any communication with her parents since she was fourteen. Her oldest brother wrote her every Christmas and on her birthday, but that was it. The sole person who knew about her abysmal grades was her grandmother, who said that she had creativity and that's all she needed to be happy in life. She hadn't even told Lily or Sirius, who she was pretty sure received OWLs in every class they took.

"They didn't, sir. They don't know."

"And how did you manage that?"

"I don't live with them anymore, sir." Stella shifted uncomfortably in her chair, crossing her fingers underneath the desk that he wasn't about to kick her out of Hogwarts. Fawkes let out a melancholy note.

"You don't?" He sounded surprised, giving half a glance to the phoenix. "Then where are you living now?"

"I stay with my grandmother in France during the summer. I haven't seen my parents in two years." Stella started jiggling her foot anxiously, waiting for the axe to fall.

"Two years? My, my. I'm sorry to hear that. I suspected something was amiss, but I wasn't sure what."

She nodded, unsure why he should be noticing this in a school of a thousand students and a full faculty, plus all the other things he was involved with in the middle of what was starting to become a wizarding war.

"Your grandmother lives outside of Nice now, am I right?"

"Yes, sir," she said quietly. There was a long pause.

"Sir," she interrupted his thoughts. "Professor, please don't kick me out of school. I'll raise my grades this year, I promise. And I'll stay on my best behavior. Please don't kick me out. I have nothing else outside of this school."

"Oh, no, Stella my dear, I have no intentions of kicking you out," he chuckled, and she was surprised he called her Stella and not Margaux, like the rest of the teachers did. She liked it and let out a gush of air in relief. "Although you would certainly benefit from better grades and better behavior. Now tell me. Exactly why were you outside of my office this lunch?"

"I didn't know it was your office. I was just looking for a quiet place to spend lunch."

"And why was that?" He pressed.

"I don't know," she mumbled, playing with the hem on her skirt. "Sometimes the Great Hall just gets a little overwhelming."

"I certainly understand that. I, too, enjoy spending my lunches in places other than the boisterous Great Hall. But as a student, I'm surprised that stresses you."

"It's not the noise that bothers me. I just hate being the center of all the school gossip. First it was because I was placed in Gryffindor, then because I made the Quidditch team, now, I don't know. I just can't stand being stared at like I'm some kind of freak."

"I see." He nodded, and Stella truly felt as though he understood where she was coming from. "It's strange to me. I feel like we spend most of our adolescence trying to blend into the crowd, and then most of our adult lives trying to make ourselves stand out. It's truly ludicrous, don't you think?" Stella nodded, not really sure if she knew what he meant. "I mean, as a teenager, I was so embarrassed by my height and how gangly I was. And my father's reputation, too, as it were. It seems so trivial now, but as a youngster, I was simply mortified."

Stella wondered what his father had a reputation for. The school bell rang, though, signaling the end of lunch.

"Ah, how time slips away. Have a nice day, Miss Dupont. I enjoyed spending lunch with you."

"You too, sir. And thank you." She smiled. It was nice to see a human aspect of the headmaster so many feared.

"Perhaps tomorrow you'd like to spend lunch with me as well? I would surely appreciate the company. And we can talk more about your studies."

"I would like that, too."

"And for the record, I thoroughly enjoy Sugar Quills."

"Yes, sir." She was completely bewildered at that statement. Did he expect her to bring him sugar quills? She doubted it. Leave it to the cooky headmaster to have a completely normal conversation and end it like that. "See you tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks, everyone, for reading :)**

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As the weeks passed, Stella got into the habit of eating lunch with the headmaster, pretending that she was studying in the library if anyone ever asked. It was quite enjoyable, and she discovered that she got along well with the strange man. They talked about their families, and she found out that he knew her grandmother as a teen-- she found it altogether weird to picture the two oldest people she knew her age, but she enjoyed hearing the stories about her grandmother in her youth.

Sure enough, her grades were beginning to improve. She wasn't sure if it was because she suddenly realized how necessary her schooling would be to get a job after Hogwarts, because of the phenomenal resource Dumbledore was in all things magic, or because Lily had finally rubbed off on her, but whatever it was, it was working. For the first time that she could remember, her life seemed to be going rather smoothly.

One surprisingly nice fall day, Stella and Lily decided to lounge in the sun under their favorite beech tree by the lake. Stella was strumming absentmindedly on the second-hand guitar she had bought and people-watching, and Lily was reading something for class, no doubt. Stella saw Severus Snape lurking nearby and hoped Lily hadn't noticed.

After he had called Lily a mudblood in front of most of their year at the end of last term, Lily had absolutely refused to talk to him, rightfully so. Stella knew that they had been as close as her and Sirius and their friendship predated their time at Hogwarts. Although Stella abhorred any use of that foul word and could understand why Lily didn't want anything to do with Severus now, she knew how much it must eat Lily up inside to not be friends with him anymore.

Amazingly enough, Severus was brave enough to approach them. Looking around, she realized the Marauders were uncharacteristically absent from their vicinity. After the incident last year, Stella noticed they—James, specifically—had more or less taken over as Lily's bodyguards to keep Severus away from her. So that explained Severus' sudden boldness. Stella stopped strumming, and stared up at him, her blonde eyebrows raised.

"Hello Stella. Lily." He greeted them stiffly, looking sadly at Lily.

Lily ignored him, pretending to continue to read, but Stella noticed her eyes weren't moving across the page anymore. Stella disliked Severus, but out of respect for Lily, refused to be rude to him like Sirius was.

"Hi, Severus. Have a good summer?"

"It was the same as usual. And yourself?" He was watching Lily, who continued to pretend he wasn't there.

"Surprisingly good. I never once saw my parents, so that probably explains it."

She smiled sadly at him, knowing that from what Lily told her, he had just as miserable a home life as she used to, but unlike her, he now was missing a partner in crime, an outlet in the tension. He was silent, and Stella wondered if he planned on staring at Lily all day.

"Well, Severus, I'll be seeing you around," she said kindly, trying to give him a hint. "Good luck this year."

That seemed to jolt him to his senses. Nodding, he left them. Once he was out of earshot, Lily looked up gratefully at her.

"Thanks, Stell. I just can't do it yet, you know?"

"I know, Lils. It's hard. But did you really not talk to him at all this summer?"

"No," Lily mumbled, playing with a loose thread on the blanket they were sharing. "I told you what I told him last term. He made his decision, and now he's stuck with it."

"I know," Stella said slowly. "And I see where you're coming from. But maybe he's realized what a mistake he made."

"Stella, we've gone over this," she snapped. "I can't be friends with him if he continues to associate with those so-called friends of his."

"He's lonely, Lily. Maybe he doesn't have anyone else to talk to, and they just happened to accept him."

"Are you siding with him?" Lily's voice was getting higher and higher pitched, and Stella knew her infamous temper was starting to flare up.

"Of course not! You know how I feel about that group of people. I'm just saying maybe the situation isn't as black and white as you think it is. It's hard always being the odd man out with that crowd, I know."

"I absolutely can't believe what I'm hearing. Are you feeling sorry for that scum?" Lily was on her feet now.

"Easy, Lils. He used to be your best friend. And yes, I have to admit, I do feel bad for him. School has to be hard when you don't have any friends."

"Well, maybe you should go be friends with him then if you care so much. I'm sure your parents would be pleased."

With that insult, Lily huffed back towards the castle. Stella's eyes were wide in disbelief. She knew Lily was upset, but she should know better than to bring up her parents like that. She barely had time to stew before a familiar velvety voice caught her attention.

"Your morning going well, then?" Remus Lupin was smiling at her, a book tucked under his arm.

"Yes, swimmingly," she responded sarcastically, rolling her eyes. He had probably grown at least six inches over the summer, and she shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at him. "You heard all that, then?"

"Well, it was hard not to," he said apologetically. "I was just on the other side of the tree. Mind if I join you?"

She nodded, a bit shocked that he had been there all along. Apparently the Marauders did indeed take their bodyguard job seriously. She was also shocked how friendly and talkative Remus was being with her without a group to buffer.

"I'm sorry you got the wrath of Lily so early in the term," he continued.

Stella sighed. "I guess you could say I sort of deserved it. But I can't help it. She's just so stubborn sometimes."

"I understand stubborn friends, believe me."

She smiled. "I guess you do. Merlin forbid you tell Sirius no. James, too, for that matter."

He chuckled. "Yes, you understand completely. Can I tell you something? I think it might cheer you up a bit."

"Sure." Her heart leapt, for some reason.

"Peter calls her Tiger Lily behind James' back. He even drew quite an impressive sketch of her as an actual tiger lily flower after she told him off for breathing too loudly before the OWLs last year. You should see it sometime."

She smiled. "Poor Peter better keep that a secret if he likes his face the way it is."

"You know, I tell him that daily. I'm beginning to think he's seriously considering facial disfiguration."

There was a companionable silence as they both considered what Lily, or James for that matter, would do to Peter if that sketch ever made it public.

"So you're talking to me now?" She interrupted his thoughts.

He grinned apologetically, which made her heart patter. "Well, I realized how rude I've been to you, and I guess I'm trying to offer an olive branch. I figured new year, new beginning… You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all; I've missed it. I didn't realize how funny you could be."

"Well, that _is_ a travesty. I will do all I can to remedy that. And please, feel free to spread the word on how absolutely hilarious you think I am."

The two spent the rest of the day together outside, talking about books and Muggle music and their stupid, yet lovable friends. As the sun set, it got cold, and they headed inside to dinner. The orange sun complimented Remus's brown eyes nicely, and made his hair sparkle.

Stella was considering whether she had enough guts to ask a guy out and whether she thought Remus would say yes to her, when she noticed her full name written on the front steps of the castle. As the pair climbed up the steps, she noticed more writing towards the top. The whole written message said _Margaux Estelle Dupont, will you go to Hogsmeade with me? _At the entranceway, there was the extraordinarily cute seventh year Ravenclaw Quidditch captain and Head Boy, Mark Rogers, waiting with a bouquet of red roses for her.

She was speechless. Was he serious? This guy had to win creativity points, if anything. Turning to look at Remus to gauge his reaction, she noticed he had already left her and gone into the Great Hall without so much as a goodbye. So much for newfound friendliness, she thought. As she accepted Mark's offer and walked into the Hall with her roses, she heard a smattering of applause which made her blush and look down at her feet; only glancing up once to spot Lily's bright red mane at the Gryffindor table.

The rest of October passed by in a blur. Lily and she had made up, as they always did, and Lily was incredibly excited about her going on a date with Mark. The night before, Lily had insisted on picking out an outfit for her date, even though Stella protested, saying that any guy who asked her out deserved what he got. Lily was currently ransacking Stella's trunk as Stella lay on Lily's bed, eating some of Lily's Muggle candy and perusing the latest Rolling Stone issue she had gotten Lily to bring back for her.

Lily and Stella were polar opposites, and it was amazing to Stella that they were friends at all, let alone best friends. Lily was prim, proper, and polite, and loved her parents and her vapid sister even though Petunia was a wench to her, where Stella cursed up a storm and questioned any kind of authority figure, especially her parents. Lily was dainty and ladylike, whereas Stella was… well, a beater for the Quidditch team, who could most likely beat anyone at any athletic activity. Lily magically ironed her clothes before class; Stella suspected the only reason why she wore clean clothes in the first place was because of the Hogwarts elves. One time in her fourth year, on a dare from Sirius and his friends, she had tried to hide her dirty clothes to see if she could keep them from being washed, but the elves outsmarted her and would find them every time, no matter where she kept them. Ironically enough, Stella imagined Lily was the daughter her parents should have had, whereas Stella probably would fit in more with the Muggle world.

At the same time, Stella was one of the few people who could talk stubborn Lily out of a rash plan and calm her temper. Whenever Lily was overwhelmed or over-stressed, as her perfectionist, controlling self tended to be, Stella was able to show her that there was a life outside of schoolwork and that being imperfect was perfectly okay. She also was able to smooth over the messes Lily sometimes got herself into with the girls they lived with or their classmates. It was hard for some people to work with Lily's uptightness, but Stella would always take care of whatever awkward situation arose between Lily and the rest of their friends.

Stella loosened Lily up and got her to let her hair down; Lily kept Stella in line. Really, the two complemented each other perfectly, and sometimes Stella wondered if when books and poems referred to a soul mate, if they didn't always necessarily mean someone you were head over heels in love with, but just a best friend.

"… And I mean, seriously, did you see Miriam from Hufflepuff's tights in Herbology today? They had holes all over them! It's so pathetic how some girls are such copycats. Don't they realize the whole part of your – well, your charm, I guess, is that you're an individual? Stop popping your gum at me; it's rude. But like I was saying in the first place, I think you should wear something to play up your best features. Legs and eyes, I think, yeah? And definitely wear your hair down, no ponytails. Ugh, Stella, do you own a single skirt other than your uniform?"

"You know I don't," Stella responded absentmindedly as she finished reading an article about one of her favorite bands.

Lily had been ranting all the time while she rifled through Stella's clothes, occasionally throwing in a comment or two for Stella's benefit. She had pulled out a few sweaters from Stella's pile of clothes, but had since moved on to her own trunk.

"Here, you can borrow my gray skirt, wear it with this sweater, and you'll be set."

Stella threw down the magazine, sensing a break in the steady line of talking Lily had been doing.

"I'm wearing jeans tomorrow; you can keep your damn skirt. It's going to be cold, and I'm not going to shiver the whole time." She gave Lily a severe look. "So when were you planning on telling me that Steven from Ravenclaw asked you out? Lil, he's a seventh year, super cute and super smart, nicely done!"

"Oh, you heard about that, did you?" Lily blushed shyly. "I didn't tell him yes because I wasn't sure. I didn't want to rush anything."

"Give me a break, Lils, he's a hunk! If you don't go to Hogsmeade with him tomorrow, I'm going to consider disowning you. Also, I'm upset that I had to hear it from Alice in the first place. I wonder if I could buy a new best friend in Hogsmeade."

Lily snorted, and threw her pillow at Stella. "Get out of here. You couldn't afford a new me, I'm priceless. Or, then again, Hufflepuff Miriam would probably throw herself at you for free like she does everyone else."

"Oh my goodness, Lily Evans, you are still jealous of Miriam! James asked her out last _year_, and dumped her after two weeks. I think it's time to get over it."

"I am in no way, shape, or form jealous of anything associated with that toe rag Potter."

"Yeah, yeah, invite me to your wedding."

"So you think Steven is cute?" Lily was an expert at changing the subject when it centered on James, and it always made Stella secretly laugh. Whenever Lily realized that she was crazy about James Potter, she was going to be in for a shock of a lifetime.

"Duh, Lils. And if him and Mark end up being complete duds, we can get a double date going and just keep each other company since they're friends too."

"Do you think Steven's going to be a dud?" Lily asked, concerned.

"Of course not. He is going to be a charming hunk, and you're going to get married and have lots of babies one day."

Stella threw Lily's pillow back to her, and laughed at the look on her friend's face.


	6. Chapter 6

_So I was updating my other story that I'm working on, and I realized I can't leave my Harry Potter peeps out, especially since this storyline is what got me interested in writing fan fiction in the first place! Thank you all for adding me to your updates/favorites/what-have-you lists, it makes me think you're actually enjoying what I'm writing… very misleading, hehe :) It's kinda slow going, but I'm crossing my fingers that it will all pay off in the long run. It doesn't help that I'm already thinking about what will happen to Stella once she leaves Hogwarts… hmm maybe I'll just combine the two?_

_That is another thought for another day. Please let me know what you're thinking when you're reading this!! And thank you, thank you THANK YOU for staying with the story :) Love & peace!_

* * *

The next day, Stella dressed herself exactly like Lily instructed her, skirt and all. If she was going to be dating the boy, might as well seem like she wanted to, she figured. As she walked down to breakfast that morning, she heard a few whistles, and she immediately regretted the skirt. Her regret was made even greater when she felt how cold it was outside.

"So, how did you do on your OWLs last year?" Mark asked her as they started down the path to Hogsmeade. She groaned as silently as possible.

The school talk lasted all the way to Madam Puddifoot's, an accursed place that she truly dreaded. It was everything she was not—it was pink and frilly and quiet, and full of people who thought they were in love. She didn't mind dating people, to be honest, but she couldn't stand people who loved being in love, and that was all Madam Puddifoot's was.

She drank her tea as fast as she could, trying to play off the rest of Mark's academic inquisition as they finally moved onto Quidditch. Of course, he liked the only team in the league that she hated. He also hated rock music—he didn't understand how people could screech into a microphone and call it art, he said. She realized this date was going nowhere, and as they paid the bill (divided exactly in half, down to the knut), she tried to make her escape.

"Um, Mark, I forgot that I was supposed to meet a friend in the Three Broomsticks. I'm late, actually, so I should get going."

"Oh, that's fine. I'll go with you; some of my team is meeting there, too. You should meet them! I think they'd like you."

"No!" she said much too vehemently, and some people in the café turned to look at her. She slapped her hand against her forehead for added effect. "I mean, no, I can't believe it! I was supposed to meet that friend in _Hogwarts_! In the library. For a school project."

"Well if it's a school thing, you should definitely get going. I'll see you later, then. I had a lovely time. We should do this again." He bent down to kiss her, and she quickly offered him her cheek.

She smiled fakely and waved until he was out of sight. Sighing, she had no idea what to do, now faced with an entire free day in front of her. She definitely didn't want to go back to Hogwarts yet, but she couldn't risk staying around Hogsmeade's main street, for fear of running into Mark again.

She decided to take off and explore the actual town outside of the main touristy thoroughfare. She had never been to an entirely wizarding town, and it was interesting to see how similar, yet very different it really was to Muggle and mixed towns. She found a playground at the end of the day and sat in a swing, absentmindedly twisting herself around and around in circles, watching the cloudy gray sky.

It was chilly in her skirt, and there was only one family there—two young parents and a child, who was currently going down the slide. The parents were cheering the small kid on as he romped around the playground, and took pictures of him.

"Hey, there. Mind if I join you?" Remus Lupin interrupted her reverie. She jumped about a mile out of her skin.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he retorted.

"Exploring." She smiled at him, letting go of the twisted chain she worked so long on, letting herself spin around and around in a tight circle. She closed her eyes and leaned back, getting the full effect of the spinning.

"Me too. What happened to your date?"

The swing slowly came to a stop before she answered. She was incredibly dizzy, and felt a little sick. She focused on the family, who had moved on to a new piece of playground equipment.

"It turns out we didn't have very much in common. What did you do today?"

"Nothing much. The guys were all on dates, so I just did my own thing. It was nice. I guess that makes me a loner, doesn't it?" He put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the swing set pole.

"Well, you're asking the wrong person. I ditched a guy I was on a date with to be on my own."

"And so here were are."

She nodded, and they shared a companionable silence, both watching the happy family.

"Do they seem young to you?" she asked.

"I suppose so. But isn't that the new thing now? Being in love and starting a big family right out of school. It is the 70's, after all."

She snorted. "Yeah, right. Check in with them in fifteen years. That kid will be the miserable oldest brother of four miserable kids who all hate each other. The parents will fight because they have no money with such a big family and because they wasted the enjoyable parts of their youth raising children who ended up hating them."

"Wow. You have some strong opinions in the matter."

"From experience, my friend." Stella was quickly feeling herself slip into a sour mood as she thought of her parents. Or lack thereof.

"How are your parents doing? I hear you keep spending the summer with your grandmother. Is it that bad?"

She gave him a look. "Next question, please."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I just remember in first year you said you spent Christmas break at school because of them, and I was worried about you."

Worried? That wasn't the word she was expecting.

"Well, I don't know how my parents are doing because I haven't seen them since the summer after fourth year, to be honest. They more or less gave me up to my grandmother, who is lovely, really, but is a complete airhead. I'm practically failing out of school, and all she says is that creative people don't need schooling, or something like that. I wish she would just get mad and ground me or something, but all she does is encourage it. You would think it's refreshing after the tyranny I lived with, but it's infuriating, really."

"You're failing?"

Leave it to Remus the ne'er-do-wrong to be more concerned about her failing school than anything else.

"Yes, Remus, I'm failing school. Because I don't do my work, and frankly, no one really cares about it, as long as I keep a pretty face and seem happy. I got a whopping four OWLs. Which means that I essentially have no hope at any kind of real career after school. And before that wouldn't have bothered me, because I'm sure my parents would have supported me being the spoiled rich kid they always wanted me to be, but now, who knows what'll happen to me. If you see me on the street someday, feel free to offer any spare change you may have."

Stella had no idea what came over her. She never got like this, where she would unload all of her feelings. Not even with Lily. Sure, she had a temper (something she inherited from her Veela great-grandmother, she was sure), but it generally manifested itself in a more physical fashion. She glared daggers at the young family, who was now leaving the area. They were definitely to blame.

"Well, if I do have any change to spare, you'll be sure to get it. Although, being a werewolf, I can understand your preoccupation with finding a stable job. It seems that no matter how well I do in school, how much I'm praised, how many OWLs or recommendations I get, I'm in your same boat. Same situation; very different circumstances. Be sure to wave at me in the unemployment line."

She looked down at her feet in horror, slightly ashamed of herself. Remus was smiling, though, showing no harm done.

"Merlin. I've had just about every opportunity handed to me on a silver platter, and I've shat upon it all. I'm sorry, Remus. I should have thought before I spoke."

"It's fine, really. I don't want your pity; I'd much rather you told me the truth. And if it makes you feel any better, I'd have to say your situation is significantly worse than mine. I, at least, had far less going for me at the get-go."

He smiled a lopsided grin at her, which made her heart beat slightly faster.

"Arse." She slapped him playfully across the swing. Remus laughed, and then checked his wristwatch.

"Well, we should probably get going if we want to make it back in time for dinner." He stood up, and offered her his arm. "Shall we, milady?"

He grinned an impish grin, and her stomach did backflips all the way back to Hogwarts.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi, all! It's been a while, but it's my goal to finish this story. Expect some massive posting in the next week or so :) **

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The first Quidditch match the next weekend ended with Gryffindor victorious, and so there was a party in the tower, naturally. Sirius had snuck firewhiskey into the boys' dorm, and Stella guessed she was drunk. Lily was nowhere to be found, and everyone seemed to insist on congratulating Stella on the match. Well, the males of Gryffindor seemed to insist, at the very least.

Stella curled up on an armchair next to the fire, and began observing the chaos around her. Sirius was snogging a seventh year senseless in the corner of the common room. Peter and James were trying to get some kind of game started with a group of fifth year girls, who were falling all over themselves trying to impress them.

Stella rolled her eyes, and continued scanning the room. It was pretty much the same all around. Boys were trying to outdo one another, proving how manly they were, girls were pretending to not watch the boys outdo one another, and a few had enough guts to flirt senselessly with one another.

Her scanning stopped when she realized she was being watched. Remus Lupin was staring at her from across the room with a frustrated expression on his face. Once she caught him, he looked away immediately, frowning at his feet. She continued watching him. He raised his eyes to meet hers once more, and she was shocked by what she saw there. His brown eyes were much more intense than she had ever seen before, practically smoldering. She couldn't make herself tear her eyes away from him, and he continued to frown at her, looking slightly disapproving. There was so much to him that she didn't know, and she was dying to crack his code. No sixteen year-old boy should be able to look at someone like that.

After a long moment, he turned on his heels and disappeared up the boys' staircase. Stella hesitated for a second, and then got up to follow him.

At that very moment, Lily chose to reappear. Apparently a smitten Patrick from Ravenclaw had been trying to get her to sneak out with him and was at the portrait hole, waiting for her. She begged Stella to send him away, and being the good friend she was, Stella acquiesced with a sigh.

Stella wasn't sure what happened between her and Remus that night, but whatever it was, apparently it meant they were back to not acknowledging each others' presence. Well, Remus was back to not acknowledging her presence—she, however, continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye whenever he was around. He absolutely ignored her, and it was maddening. Stella felt pathetic, and a little bit like a stalker. She couldn't stop herself, though. She felt absolutely drawn to Remus Lupin.

She was late to History of Magic one day, as she almost always was, and was jogging to class. Another Hogsmeade date had been announced for the first weekend in December. Mark had asked her out again, as had several other boys she wouldn't have minded going with, but she had politely turned them all down. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but she was holding out for a certain person's invitation.

She rushed into class out of breath, this time unable to escape under Professor Binns' radar. He threw her a dithering look as he paused in his lecture for the briefest of moments before continuing the droning. She blushed slightly, and made a beeline for the only available seat in the back corner of the classroom.

She was already seated before she realized who was sitting to her left. It was Remus Lupin, and she froze midway through taking out her parchment. He was smiling pleasantly at her in greeting, making her eyebrows disappear into her white blond hairline in shock. He continued smiling to himself as he went back to taking notes.

Stella tried her hardest to concentrate on the lecture the rest of class. It was about some kind of goblin rebellion in the 17th century, and it didn't quite distract her from the warmth she felt coming from the body next to her. If she moved just slightly to the left, their arms would be touching.

The bell rang all too soon, and Remus was already of his seat before she had rallied herself to talk to him. She followed in his trail out the door to class, and was about to approach him and the other Marauders when she was intercepted.

"Stella."

A fourth year boy she recognized from Gryffindor stood in her way. What was his name? Nate? Jake? Something along those lines. She smiled and nodded in greeting and tried to step around him, to no avail. He was persistent.

"Stella, would you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

He looked at her hopefully as she did a double take at him, her eyes finally leaving the Marauders. "What?"

"Would you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Oh, no, Jake, I don't think so." She tried to look like she was in a hurry. Maybe he would get the point that way. Really, Remus and Sirius were just at the end of the hall now. She could still catch up to them.

"It's Walter."

Zero and two. She felt guilty now at his crestfallen expression.

"I'm sorry, Walter." She sighed as her target disappeared into a sudden surge of people. Turning back to face Walter, she saw that he had also left, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. She cursed her luck, and kicked the floorboard next to her in frustration, which was underneath a portrait of a wistful looking girl.

"Really!" The girl reprimanded as Stella stalked away.

Stella's foul mood continued into the evening, and she took out most of her aggression at practice. After showering, she came back down to the common room to work on an essay she had due in Potions tomorrow. It was late, and the room was almost empty. She was letting her wet hair air dry beside the fireplace, and twirled one of the drier ends between her fingers, watching the new curl fall against her shoulder.

"Mind if I join you?" Remus Lupin interrupted her.

She looked up in shock and nodded. He smiled as he sat beside her. Her cheeks felt hot, and she hoped the warm fire behind her was responsible for it.

"You've chosen a warm spot," he said conversationally. She stared at him, and her stare seemed to take the wind out of his sails.

"You're talking to me?"

Her words wiped the smile right off his face. "Yes, I suppose I am," he said quietly.

"Why were you so cold before? Was it something I did?"

"No, you didn't do anything. That was all me." He sighed. "I guess you could say Sirius talked some sense into me, for once."

Her heart skipped a beat. "What did he tell you?" She might have to kill her best friend now, depending on what he said.

"He assured me I was being ridiculous about certain things, as always." Remus smiled charmingly at her, and her heart sputtered. He was sitting quite close to her—their legs were touching under the table. Not that she minded.

"What kinds of things?" Her voice was breathy.

He wavered, and thought about something for a long time. He sighed deeply before he spoke.

"Because of my… condition," he began quietly, carefully forming the words, "I have certain hesitations about beginning friendships. It's a miracle I have any friends at all, really. I didn't mean to offend you by giving you the cold shoulder all this time."

He smiled sadly, and Stella looked at the table top, not sure she could look him in the eyes. Some of her hair fell across her shoulder, blocking her view of him. Remus hesitantly reached one hand up and gently tucked the strands behind her ear, his hand stopping at her jaw for the briefest moment. She looked up at him, and his eyes were full of emotion. Their faces were inches apart.

"So what do you say? Can you forgive my atrocious behavior and be my friend?"

She looked at him and shook her head slowly. He looked shocked for a moment, and withdrew his hand, his mouth making a small "o".

"I don't know if I can be just friends with you, Remus," she explained softly. "I've spent the past few weeks obsessing over you because you were ignoring me. The past few years, really. I don't generally do that with people I'm trying to be friends with. I don't do that with anyone, actually." She watched his reaction.

He sighed deeply. "I was afraid of that. Sirius told me I was doing more harm than good by trying to keep my distance from you. I didn't mean for this to happen."

Stella bit her lip and nodded. She felt a lump in her throat, and she tried to ignore it. He sighed again, and he traced the edge of the table with his thumb.

"The things I feel for you… I didn't realize I felt until I started watching other guys ask you out. I don't know if I can be just friends with you, either." He hesitated. "I've never dated anyone before. I don't even know if it's possible for someone like me to date. But I want to try, Stella. You're going to have to be patient with me, but I'll try, for you."

She smiled at him, at his sincerity. They were so close to each other. All it took was a slight tilt of her head, she thought.

"Go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

She nodded, and leaned towards him. Their eyes were locked on each other, and he seemed to hesitate before lightly pressing his lips to hers. Sparks could have easily been flying between them. She made to press her body against his, trying to deepen the kiss, but he caught her face, carefully extricating himself from her.

"Patience," he whispered against her lips. He was out of breath. "Goodnight, Stella."

With that, he left her, a smile playing on his lips as he went up to bed. She looked at the door to the boys' dorms long after he had disappeared, slightly dizzy. For someone who didn't date, he sure knew what he was doing.

Stella still felt dazed the next morning. She wondered how she had managed to finish her essay at all the night before, but sure enough, it was done. She entered Transfiguration early with the rest of the six year girls, not quite paying attention to the chatter around her.

"Stella, Remus Lupin is staring at you."

Immediately, Stella's attention was captured as she followed her friend Alice's gaze. Amazingly enough, Remus Lupin was sitting at an empty table, not next to James like he normally did. He smiled and patted the seat next to him. She walked slowly up to him, not entirely sure that she wasn't still dreaming.

"Sleep well?"

She nodded. "So I'm guessing I wasn't imagining that we had talked last night."

"No," he agreed. It seemed like he couldn't stop smiling. It was contagious.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much in all six years," she teased.

With that, class started, and Stella had to give it her full attention. She walked with Remus to lunch, ignoring her classmates' stares as they sat together, separate from their other friends. After spending the better part of the morning with him, she expected her heart to stop racing erratically, but it didn't. At some moments, she wondered if he couldn't hear it—his smile seemed to grow larger in response. It was hard to tell.

She went to bed early that night, showering carefully after Quidditch practice. She was part exhausted from staying up so late the night before, and part excited to get Saturday started as soon as possible. And part eager to avoid Lily's seemingly relentless questions and enthusiasm in analyzing her wardrobe.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Stella woke up early, for once. She had refused to admit it to Lily, but she was incredibly excited to be spending her day with the mysterious Remus Lupin, sans his group of brainless friends. She pulled the sweater Lily picked out for her over her head, and had to admit, Lily knew what she was doing. Opting for thick leggings and Lily's grey skirt instead of the jeans she had planned on wearing and her fashionable yet comfortable boots, she looked in the mirror. Grabbing her jacket off the floor, she backtracked, ran Lily's brush through her hair, and wrapped one of Lily's hair ribbons around her head like a hair band. She reassessed herself, pleased with what she saw. She was looking pretty girly, if she said so herself.

Lily wordlessly gave her the once-over and nodded smugly as she sat down next to her for breakfast. She and some of the girls in their year were going to Hogsmeade in a big group with Patrick and some of his friends. As breakfast came to an end, Stella got up and bounced over to the Marauders.

"Bonjour, Messieurs. I am here to steal away your friend and reintroduce him to polite society." She laid on her French accent thick. She was surprised when none of the guys had any witty retort. Sirius was smiling encouragingly at her, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion, waiting for some prank she was sure they had planned to come to fruition.

Nothing happened though, and Remus, who was wearing certain expensive-looking pieces Stella recognized from Sirius' closet, simply got up and offered her his arm to lead her out to the main entrance, where they had to check out.

"Wow, Remus, I'm impressed," she whispered once they were out of earshot. "What did you do to them?"

"I didn't do anything. Well, except for threaten their lives if they were smartasses to you this morning. Something about 'silent as the grave' scared them a bit, I think."

She laughed. "I was wondering about that. I was a bit scared when not one of them said a thing."

"It could have been that, or the fact that you look stunning." He blushed slightly as he spoke, which made her smile.

"Thank you, Remus. I can't take responsibility for it though; Lily dressed me."

He chuckled. "And Sirius dressed me. It seems as though our friends don't give us enough credit."

"Oh, they give us plenty, I think."

As they started down the path to Hogsmeade, he stopped. "Ah, I almost forgot. I have something for you."

Reaching carefully into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a single bright red Gerber daisy.

"It's not much, but I remembered you told me a while ago how much you liked these flowers that grew wild in your backyard, so I found one for you. It was one of the last ones left around the Forbidden Forest before the frost came; I'm pretty sure it's been magic that's been keeping it alive. It is daisies, right?"

Stella's jaw dropped as she took her favorite flower from him.

"Remus, this is amazing. I can't believe you remember that, I told you that what, first year, right?"

"It was the beginning of second year. You were trying out for beater, and you were so nervous, especially after Sirius made some inane comment about girls not being able to play beater as well as guys. I remember we were walking to the pitch with Peter and Lily, and you saw a patch of wild daisies. You said that they were good luck because they were your favorite."

"That's right, I remember now! And they _were_ good luck, because I hit every single target in tryouts, except the last one…"

"That you launched at Sirius' head, knocking him out cold."

She laughed as Remus finished the story.

"I remember that, it was great. I did feel kind of bad though. I took him to the Hospital Wing and said that he was right, girls can't play beater, and I must have just lost control of the bat when he woke up. If Pomphrey hadn't been there, I'm pretty sure I would have been strangled to death. You know," she added, "I'm surprised Sirius and I have survived being friends with each other this long."

"Some days I wonder that myself." He smiled. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure that this came from the same spot as your lucky daisies."

She was absolutely touched by his memory, and stuck the flower behind her ear, intertwining her fingers with his as she stood on her tiptoes to peck him on the cheek.

Far behind them, she heard three familiar catcalls.

"So much for silent as the grave," Remus muttered under his breath.

Instead of going to Madam Puddifoot's or the Three Broomsticks as every other date she had been with to Hogsmeade took her, Remus took her hiking through the nearby woods. It was by far the oddest date she had ever been on, mostly because she had a feeling the reason Remus was so knowledgeable about the area was because he had traveled it on four paws. At the same time, it was easily her best date yet.

After a few hours, they sat on a rock to rest for a bit and eat some snacks they had bought. In the distance they could see the Shrieking Shack. The late afternoon sun had come out, and it was getting to be unseasonably warm. She took off her jacket and spread out on the cool rock, wanting to absorb the sunlight for as long as she could. Remus rolled his sleeves up around his elbows and sat on the ground, leaning against her sunning rock with his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.

"Remus, I have to say, you win the best date ever award. Even the weather is nice today."

"I do have my sneaky ways with the gods of weather. But I think the company had a lot to do with it. I had fun today."

"Had? It's not over yet, is it?"

Stella sat up and peered down at him, expecting to exchange some kind of joking look. His eyes were closed, but there was still a hint of a smile on his lips as he took in the warm sun. His arms were stretched above his head, and she noticed a long, jagged scar she had never seen before running along his forearm. She wanted to touch it, to trace it with her fingertips, but she didn't dare disturb him. He looked angelic and peaceful. She curled carefully around the rock to get a better look, drinking in all of him and not wanting to let go of this moment.

Looking more carefully at him, she tried to form an objective observation in her mind, but failed every time. He really was stunningly handsome. And everything that would be expected to be a flaw in his appearance somehow added to his mystique. The circles under his eyes made him seem older, in a good way. She noticed light strands in his hair that she supposed were gray hairs, but under the sun, they lightened his sandy brown hair and framed his face perfectly. His nose was strong and sharp, and so was his chin. His lips were thin, but perfect mirror images of each other.

"It's rude to stare, you know," he said as he opened his eyes, a hint of a grin on his face.

"How did you know I moved? I thought I was being so sneaky."

"I could smell you. And hear you, too. But smell you most of all." He finally opened his eyes, and gazed at her.

"You can smell me? That's embarrassing." She pulled herself off the rock and crouched down in front of him, putting a little more space between them.

"No, not like that," he chuckled. "It's a good smell. You have a very good smell."

She stared at him blankly, wondering what he was talking about as she sniffed at the sweater she wore. "But I'm not wearing any perfume."

"No, it's not perfume," he agreed. "It's something else on your skin. I think because of my lycanthropy my senses are just the teensiest bit sharper than the average human's. For instance, at breakfast this morning, I could smell Lily on you, probably because you were wearing her clothes. She's more flowery smelling, appropriately enough. But now it's all you. It's hard to explain; it's like cinnamon or something woodsy, but exotic. It's very warm and comforting, and definitely not a bad smell. I like it a lot," he tried to explain to her.

"It's sandalwood and patchouli," she realized aloud. "My grandmother makes soap from olive oil, and she's added sandalwood and patchouli oil to mine for as long as I can remember. I'm always so upset because I can never smell it after I shower. I can't believe you picked up on it," she said in awe, sniffing her wrist and still not smelling anything.

He smiled. "Well, I guess being a werewolf finally has its advantages. I am able to impress girls with my incredible sense of smell. Too bad I couldn't get x-ray vision or the ability to fly."

"You've been reading too many Muggle comic books," Stella teased. "I like you just the way you are. I wouldn't change you for the world."

"Thank you," he said awkwardly, struggling to take a compliment.

Remus crossed his arms against his chest, and Stella got an up-close view of his scar. As she reached out to touch it, he jerked his arm away from her.

"Where did that come from?" she asked. "It looks painful."

"Nowhere special. Gardening accident over the summer," he mumbled automatically.

"No way," she said with a smile. "Your parents are magic; they would have healed it and it wouldn't have left nearly as bad a scar as this."

"Well, that's what happened. Guess they're not very good at healing spells." He jumped up and started walking away from her.

"Liar," she called out to him, standing up and stubbornly crossing her arms across her chest. "They've had a child who's been a werewolf since he was little; I guarantee you they know every healing spell and potion that's out there."

"Just drop it, Stella. It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me, because it happened to you. Tell me," she commanded him in an authoritative tone.

"Fine!" he snapped at her. "You want to know what happened? I'll tell you. When I transform into a monster once a month, it's unbearably painful. After a particularly hard transformation, I get anxious to go out and hunt, but because I'm trapped in the Shrieking Shack and this past full moon everyone was in detention instead of being out to distract me, I turned on myself. Werewolf bites don't heal properly. I spent the better half of my Wednesday night last week gnawing off my left arm. Leg, actually, when you consider I was on all fours when it happened. Happy now?"

He was extraordinarily agitated like she had never seen him before and was shaking in anger, or maybe sadness or frustration, or even all three at once. He was scary.

"No, Remus, of course I'm not happy," she said softly. "Why would you ever think that would make me happy?"

"You see the Shrieking Shack?" he gestured to it wildly, ignoring her. "It's not haunted. Those screams the town hears every full moon are me, howling during my transformations. Dumbledore built that for me before we all enrolled at Hogwarts so I could come to school here and not put anyone in danger. The Whomping Willow is supposed to prevent people from exploring too far and accidentally running into me there."

He was silent now, breathing raggedly and assessing her reaction. Stella had never seen Remus so impassioned before, or ever felt so much emotion for someone before in her life. How could he always be so calm and gentle and so happy when she saw him if he had to go through all this? He literally tore himself to shreds every month, pulled himself together, and went back to class the next morning, chipper as can be. For Merlin's sake, he was one of the best students in their year, while she struggled by.

Remus had his back turned to her, and as she looked at him closer, she saw tears running down his face. Silently, she reached for his scarred arm and examined it closely, holding it in one hand and tracing its path with the other. The scar had an odd texture to it, and now that she knew what it was, it was obvious that it wasn't a run-of-the-mill injury. Looking at it made her sad, and she kissed it, just as someone would kiss a little kid's bandaged finger.

"Stop," he said thickly, almost pathetically. "I don't want your pity. I accept that I'm a monster."

"Shh," she calmed him. "This isn't pity. I want to fix it."

Slowly, she made a trail of kisses methodically from one end of his jagged scar to the other. When she felt she was done, she pulled down his sleeve, covering it and kissing the palm of his hand protectively, drawing it into a fist and placing it across his chest. Next, she put one hand on either side of his face and looked into his aching eyes. A few rogue tears still lingered there, and she pulled his face down to hers and kissed each salty tear away. Finally, she kissed each of his now closed eyes and then his forehead.

Holding his head between her hands firmly as he opened his eyes, she whispered, "Remus John Lupin, you are the most amazingly strong person I think I've ever met or will ever meet in my entire life. You are incredible, do you know that?" He nodded slowly. "And you are not a monster, do you understand?" She waited for him to nod again. He didn't. "You are not a monster. Or if you are, then you are the sweetest, kindest, most considerate and intelligent monster I have ever seen. And I hope that the world will become over-populated by monsters just like you, because I'm pretty sure the world would be a better place then."

He gave her a small smile, and she knew she had won him over, at least for now. She kissed him gently on the lips, and they stared into each other's eyes.

"Stella," he began shakily, pulling slightly away from her as she made to kiss him again, just like before in the common room. "Stella, wait a second. I don't know if we should do this."

"Do what?" The smile froze on her face.

"This—everything. These feelings… it's just not fair to you. If this is love, I don't know if I can let you do this to yourself. Your life would be so hard. Don't you want kids, and a husband who can provide for you? I know I want you to have all these things, and I don't know if I can do it. It's not fair for you to give your heart to me; do you hear what I'm saying?"

"Whoa, Remus. Slow down. We're only sixteen, for Merlin's sake. Relax, we're just having fun."

At first, she carefully kissed him, just to let him know that everything was going to be okay and to stop worrying. And then the fire and passion she felt run through her body was unlike anything she had ever felt before and it took over. She twisted her fingers in his hair, and she felt the world around her evaporate. Everything was just Stella and Remus, and in this moment, she distantly realized that this was a much, much more serious situation than what she had first thought.


End file.
